Freelance Writing
For Next Avenue, a PBS platform:
Why The Door Is Closing on Affordable Housing in One Midwestern Community
For this woman, finding an affordable home for her 63-year-old mom is proving nearly impossible
Evelyn Myles lives in a small two-bedroom condo in Darien, Ill., a Chicago suburb of approximately 22,000, with her husband, their college-aged daughter, a cat and, since April, her 63-year-old mother. Before that, her mom lived with another relative while caregiving for her son, Myles' disabled brother.
Following her brother's death from COVID-19 in November 2020, the relative eventually relocated out of state for a new job, rendering her mom essentially homeless. Myles didn't hesitate to invite her and her dog to move in until she found a place to live. But what first seemed like a short-term arrangement has turned into a time-consuming campaign to find an affordable apartment. Read the entire article at Next Avenue: https://www.nextavenue.org/affordable-housing-midwestern-community/
Subject expertise: Social welfare nonprofit staffer, writer, researcher, low-income older adult advocate, caregiver.
For a lifestyle company:
1. Tips to cut your grocery bill in half
2. Food handling safety
3. Kitchen cleaning and disinfecting
4. Fresh produce prep and storage
Link provided on request.
I researched and wrote draft-to-finished copy in the client's voice.
Subject expertise: Field supervisor and projects director for a USDA agent organization.
For a project management software company:
1. Why marketing teams need better collaboration and how to improve it
2. The 5 biggest time wasters killing your marketing team’s productivity and how to fix them
3. How to successfully manage your distributed marketing team
4. How to design a great project request project
Link provided on request.
I researched and wrote draft-to-finished copy in the client's voice.
Subject expertise: Professional and volunteer roles in IT, project management.
For an advocacy organization:
Falls and Older Adults: There IS something you can do
Most adults envision retirement age as a chance to pursue new interests, careers, volunteering, and travel. As people age, however, the likelihood of sustaining an injury as a result of a fall increases. More than 95% of hip fractures are caused by falling – usually by falling sideways – and falls are also the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI). One out of five falls experienced by older adults causes a serious injury, making it hard for a person to get around, do everyday activities, or live on their own. Even if they’re not injured, many people become afraid of falling and cut down on everyday activities. Ironically, when older people are less active, they become weaker, thus increasing the chances of falling.
The good news: Research shows that falls are not an inevitable part of aging. There are things people can do to reduce falls and maintain an active, engaged lifestyle. (Read the entire article at NWCCA)
Additional:
Fall Prevention Strategies for Older Adults with Dogs: Reduce risks while enjoying the many benefits of dog ownership
For older adults, the consequences of a fall can be life-altering. Adding dog ownership to the mix requires extra strategies to reduce risk while enjoying companionship and health benefits.
Years ago, our dog charged into me from behind while playing with a neighbor’s dog and I ended up at the orthopedist for knee pain. When asked what brought me in, I thought my explanation was unique. Without missing a beat my doctor said, “We LOVE dogs. Patients getting tripped up or knocked over are about one-third of our business.” Fortunately, my knee and ego were only bruised and I set out to learn more about my dog and fall prevention strategies. (Read the entire article at Medium)
Creative Writing
"I wouldn't mind if it burned me, George."
Now there’s some peppery "nuts on screen" dialogue for the pandemic age! Expertly delivered by Agnes Moorehead as Fanny Amberson in 1942’s The Magnificent Amberson’s, she breaks apart when forced to admit to her arrogant nephew, George, that she’s broke.
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An actor going nuts on screen is generally funny when coming from a position of strength. But for Fanny, her bust up followed the revelation she’d always be marginalized.
(Read the complete essay, originally published by The Daily Drunk as part of Nuts on Screen:
https://dailydrunkmag.com/2021/01/13/i-wouldnt-mind-if-it-burned-me-george/)
The Toaster
Rent included a grimy toaster on a chipped counter in the boarding house's basement kitchen. While holding a slice of bread at the ready, I peeked inside it. At bottom, beyond the coils, lay a dead bee. I considered skipping toast and breakfast altogether. Instead, I pushed the lever, browning the slice to dark. Each day thereafter, I'd peek inside before inserting, studying how the bee turned black and then shrank and shrank until it disappeared.
(Published by Paragraph Planet, a creative writing website. 75 word flash. no more, no less. visit: https://www.paragraphplanet.com/)
Another Day to Ruin Dinner
Retrieve bulk sausage from the freezer to make pasta sauce. Simply brown it in a pan, add tomatoes and spices. This sausage, however, was actually a disk of whole wheat pie crust dough. Explains the weird appearance and flavor.
Could happen to anyone, really.
Grab corn starch to thicken broth. Simply combine with water, then pour the mixture into a simmering pot of homemade soup. This pour, however, triggered an eruption of foam all over the stovetop. Turns out I actually grabbed baking powder by mistake.
They look so similar.
Prep vegetables for stew. Simply chop, chop, and chop. While prepping, I spy a crumb on the countertop, press it onto a fingertip, and lick it into my mouth. Immediately, an involuntary spit. The crumb was actually a dead spider. This dinner wasn’t so much ruined as canceled.
I am dry heaving just typing.
(Read the complete essay: https://atlasandalice.com/2020/05/21/nonfiction-from-jane-french/
Originally published by Atlas & Alice Literary Magazine, special issue: Global Pandemic x The Thing I Took For Granted)
Staff Writing
Bicycle Safety Statistics May Surprise You
May is National Bike Month, and with bicycle-related deaths peaking in the summer months, this an ideal time to adopt some proven injury-prevention strategies before sharing the road with motor vehicles.
The popularity of bicycling for exercise, recreation and commuting continues to grow. Unfortunately, injuries and fatalities for all vulnerable road users also are growing. Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) finds that adults are more likely than children to die in a bicyclist-motor vehicle crash, with adults accounting for 88% of bicyclist fatalities.
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Until recently, helmet ratings only tested for extreme injuries, like skull fractures, and didn’t assess more common but less-severe impacts that can still result in concussions and other injuries. A new ratings program based on research by Virginia Tech University and the IIHS measures for these more common impacts.
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Notably, cost is not a good predictor of performance, but helmet style seems to play a role. So-called road helmets, which have an elongated, aerodynamic shape, tend to perform better than round “urban” helmets with fewer vents and thicker shells.
(Read the entire article at National Safety Council's Safety First Blog, written for ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation)
